The present invention relates to a system and method for selectively preventing a software program from being operable.
Businessmen constantly seek direct communications with their customers for the purpose of understanding their customers' present and future needs, tailoring a product or service to help fulfill those needs, and providing better maintenance and follow-up service. It is often very difficult for suppliers of widely distributed products and services to ascertain the identities of their ultimate customers, and it is usually very expensive to initiate and maintain communications with those customers. Most businessmen resort to a statistical sampling survey of a small fraction of their customers or feedback from their distributors about how best to serve their potential customers.
Some companies have attempted to have customers complete various questionnaires upon purchasing a product or service, whenever a maintenance or service person visits the customer, etc. Such questionnaire techniques are perceived by the customers as a nuisance intruding upon their valuable time, are sometimes incompletely filled out, and are often misplaced.
Consequently, there is a need to obtain accurate, complete, valuable information directly from customers with a minimal inconvenience to the customer.